Interspecies Conflict/Dinosaurs and bugs

QuestionHello, BK. Thank you very much for answering my questions!!!
I want to ask you about sauropods again. I am interested in reproducing fact of them. I know that sauropods most likely laid their eggs, but what do you think is it possible that sauropods were viviparous. I heard in one research interesting theory that sauropods might give birth to already alive babies much like mammals. What do you think
was it possible?
Another thing is about titanosaurs. In the previous question we talked about tail weapons of diplodocids and brachiosaurids, but what about titanosaur's tail compare in effectiveness to diplodocids and brachiosaurids?
Also I want to ask you about bugs again. We saw many horror movies about huge bugs. One of them is King Kong. In Peter Jackson version(maybe you saw it) there were enermous insects and arthropods. One of them was giant crab named deplector. I know that it is not possible to crabs and terrestrial arthropods reaching such size, but
if such crab really exists how heavy it would be in pounds or kilograms, if it was mentioned to have body up to 8 feet long and armed with 6 foot long claws?
Also one terrestrial arhropod named arthropleura was really huge. Being up to 8.5 feet long with massive armor, how much it weighed?
What do you think was it possible that even bigger than arthropleura land bugs exist?
Thank you,
Alexander

AnswerHello Alexander.

Q: Do you think is it possible that sauropods were viviparous?
A: There are many fossils that have been found of sauropods with eggshell remains beside them, and it is generally believed the majority of land dinosaurs (if not all) indeed laid eggs. Some aquatic prehistoric creatures were viviparous (gave live birth), and others exited the water long enough to lay eggs on land. There is a modern lizard (actually called the Viviparous lizard) that does both. The Viviparous lizards that live in warmer temperatures typically lay eggs, but the ones that live in cooler temperatures typically give live birth (as some eggs might not survive cooler weather). Based on this, I would guess that it's possible that sauropods living in cooler climates might have been viviparous, but no one knows for sure.

Q: How did titanosaur's tail compare in effectiveness to diplodocids and brachiosaurids?
A: The tail of the titanosaur was not as thick, robust, & short as one from a brachiosaur, but was not as long & thin as one from a diplodocid. It was probably more effective, overall, as a weapon than the tail from the brachiosaur/diplodocid because it could still be swung rather quickly, had a decent amount of heft to it (resulting in a more forceful strike), and a decent amount of reach. The overall mobility of the larger titanosaurs (Argentinosaurus, e.g.) would have been less than the smaller ones (Saltasaurus e.g.), but the tail of any titanosaur was probably a bit more effective (pound-for-pound) than one from the other sauropods.

Q: In Peter Jackson version (of King Kong) there were enormous insects and arthropods. One of them was giant crab named Deplector. It was mentioned to have body up to 8 feet long and armed with 6 foot long claws. I know that it is not possible to crabs and terrestrial arthropods reaching such size, but if such crab really existed, how heavy it would be in pounds or kilograms?
A: The movie clip I saw with Deplector in it didn't show its whole body, so it's hard to calculate without knowing how robust the creature is. 1000lb (456kg) would probably be a reasonable guess, though.

Q: One terrestrial arthropod named Arthropleura was really huge. Being up to 8.5 feet long with massive armor, how much would it have weighed?
A: 2 of the books I use mention the size of Arthropleura as being 6-6.5ft long, but don't mention any weights. They were believed to be shaped similar to trilobites & the modern wood louse. With its heavy exoskeloton & wide body, it likely weighed approximately 400-500lbs. If one indeed reached a length of 8.5ft, it would have probably exceeded 1000lbs in weight.

Q: Do you think was it possible that land bugs even bigger than Arthropleura existed?
A: I think it's possible. Brachiosaurus, for example, was believed to be largest terrestrial dinosaur for many, many years. We have since discovered larger ones like Argentinosaurus, which is twice as heavy as Brachiosaurus. With new discoveries still being made, I'm sure there will be another arthropod to emerge with even greater dimensions than Arthropleura.

Expertise

Questions regarding animal conflicts within realistic or unrealistic settings are welcome; my strength lies in medium-to-large species. Small animals (including birds of prey), prehistoric animals, sea creatures, and domestic dog breeds are usually within my scope, but to a lesser degree. I can't confidently answer hypothetical questions about human vs animal, arachnids, insects, or amphibians, but I am willing to field them nonetheless.

Experience

From a young age, I have been interested in animals. Starting with the original Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and World Book Encyclopedias, I have seen many animal shows and documentaries and have read multiple books on the subject. I have a solid understanding of the physiology of many animals and interspecies conflict in general.